From the Emerald City to The Emerald Isle: The Dykstras Head to the Homeland! (Which is...The Netherlands)

So, so, so excited to be boarding our flight to the Netherlands to meet Wayne's parents (coming from Toronto, Ontario).

First glimpse of Holland

In Amsterdam's Schipol Airport, just after having our reuniting hugs with Nana & Pake!

(Grandma & Grandpa for you non-Dutchies)

They have a full-sized grocery store in the airport and these little "salads" made me feel more like I was in Japan than Holland. You see these everywhere (they're essentially like egg-salad - mayo-concoctions and pickles) Not super inviting for me but Wayne's mum said she really likes them.

Apeldoorn was our first destination for week one!

There are many, many food photos here so apologies in advance if you find that boring. I've seen most Dutch items, but in Ontario, (where Wayne grew up), which is a very large Dutch-bubble community and you often feel as if you're in Canadian-Holland there. So, for some reason, it was really exciting for me to see the things I've eaten so many times with his family, in their orginal place! Where they're not "in the Dutch Store" but just....in A Dutch store.

And the soup mixes! Ohhh the Dutch soup (soep) mixes! I love these and Wilma makes the best soups on earth. I'm not kidding. (Well, Tanta Anna is a very close second, I learned, while in Friesland) And maggi (the soy-sauce like seasoning liquid that many cultures know but the Dutch CLAIM as theirs) :)

One guess what "Pannen Koeken" is.... Ok, there's a picture but it's "Pancakes". I love that word!

So that's Grandma's Pancakes. So cute.

Not sure WHY that's the word for rice but ok. :)

Ahhhh, hagelslag! (chocolate sprinkles people put on buttered toast every single day, like it's NOT a dessert.) Many eat this for breakfast and I'm not going to lie, I did as well, EVERY single day in the Netherlands, but boy have I paid for it.

My other good friend - Suiker.

So here's our first place for week one in The Netherlands - a super plush mobile home-type place outside Apeldoorn. Some of these are so nice, people live in them 6 months of the year (and have their main somewhere else). It slept 7 inside (and even had a bunkbed out in the shed/outside room - also really nice). In this photo, Norah had been walking around for 20 minutes making us all call her "Old Lady" and she's pretending to walk with a cane.

Looking through the kitchen to the living room

The main bedroom and us getting out the tub o' sheets to make the 7 beds!

Outside shed - (so shed on right side, wall separating, and bunk bed room on left side). Really smart idea for a rental property. And of course, all pristinely clean because....well.....it's Holland!

Nana was so excited about us trying this - Vla (sort of like "Flan" as in custard - but this is basically pudding - in a carton). You have it for dessert. Wilma swears its less sweet than pudding but I can't taste all that much difference. It's amazing, I know that. And thankfully, in week two, we found a soy version for us dairy-allergic-Dykstras.

Albert Heijn (HINE) - the big grocery store.

What I love about the Netherlands is the stores have everything packaged, compartmentalized and sealed off in the store. So organized!

Ahhh, I found a gluten free section and was so excited!

This is an entire SECTION of Hagelslag (the chocolate sprinkles) - and the De Ruijter white powder (mmmm) and then an equally large section of varying Nutella's. The Dutch know what they're doing.

You can buy pre-made Pannenkoeken too.

Big ol' trike with a hard case on the back. Loved this thing.

One of my favorite foods in Holland (and there....were....many) was Kibbeling. These are sort of like small pieces of fried fish but then they have this spice mixture on them that makes alllll the dopamine in your body just flood your system. They are...fish-cocaine. I had this many times during our two weeks, but none ever came close to this first in Apeldoorn!

Wilma in line

See? There's that dopamine release.

Instead of Kibbeling, Wayne had herring and he regretted it. He said this little raw-guy didn't necessarily taste bad, more that it was just taste-LESS and gooey. No thanks.

Apeldoorn was about 20K from our rental place and oddly enough, later that day, I saw this old man (here at the farmer's market in Apeldoorn), back down near our neighborhood. So...I knew this 80-something year old made the ride and a few days later the five us all made the bike ride into town. They thought it couldn't be done but we had so much fun and Wilma & Rick were amazing troopers to go on a trek like that. If this man can do it, we can do it.